A Royal Affair
A Royal Affair | |
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Danish | En kongelig affære |
Directed by | Nikolaj Arcel |
Written by |
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Based on | Prinsesse af blodet by Bodil Steensen-Leth |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | Rasmus Videbæk |
Edited by |
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Music by |
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Production company | Nordisk Film Distribution |
Release dates |
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Running time | 137 minutes |
Countries | |
Languages | Danish French English |
Budget | 47,7 million kr. (US$7.8 million) |
Box office | US$14.7 million |
A Royal Affair (
The film received two Silver Bears at the
Plot
Princess Caroline Matilda of Great Britain is shown writing a letter to her children in which she professes to tell them the truth. In flashback, Caroline talks of England, as she was about to leave to marry Christian VII of Denmark. She is passionate about the arts and education, but when she arrives in Denmark she is told that many of her books are banned by the state. Christian is mentally ill and Caroline is unhappy in the marriage. She is soon pregnant with a son (Frederick VI of Denmark), but the couple grow far apart and the king stops visiting her bedroom.
The German doctor
Caroline and Struensee learn of their mutual interests and liberal views. They fall in love and begin an affair. When Caroline becomes pregnant, they protect themselves by convincing Christian to resume sleeping with her. As a result,
Juliana and the prominent statesman Ove Høegh-Guldberg are strongly against Struensee's reforms, while the Danish people also grow unhappy when it becomes clear an immoral foreigner has power over the country. Høegh-Guldberg incites a coup against him. Christian refuses to hand Struensee over to the people, but Høegh-Guldberg lies that the doctor and Caroline are planning to murder him and take control of Denmark. Christian thus allows Caroline to be arrested and taken to live in exile, while Struensee is sentenced to death. Christian issues a pardon, not wanting his friend to die, but Høegh-Guldberg keeps this from becoming known in time and Struensee is beheaded. Høegh-Guldberg becomes Denmark's new de facto leader, and many of Struensee's reforms are overturned.
The film returns to Caroline writing the letter, where she reveals that she is dying of an illness. Ten years later, Prince Frederick and Princess Louise Auguste read the letter. On-screen text reveals that Frederick soon became king via a coup d'état and returned to the reforming ways of Struensee.
Cast
- Alicia Vikander as Caroline Matilda of Great Britain
- Mads Mikkelsen as Johann Friedrich Struensee
- Mikkel Følsgaard as Christian VII of Denmark
- David Dencik as Ove Høegh-Guldberg
- Søren Malling as Hartmann
- Trine Dyrholm as Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
- William Jøhnk Nielsen as Frederick, Crown Prince of Denmark
- Cyron Bjørn Melville as Enevold Brandt
- Rosalinde Mynster as Natasha
- Laura Bro as Louise von Plessen
- Bent Mejding as Count Johann Hartwig Ernst von Bernstorff
- Thomas W. Gabrielsson as Schack Carl Rantzau
- Søren Spanning as Münster
- John Martinus as Christian Ditlev Reventlow
- Erika Guntherová as Lady in Waiting
- Harriet Walter as Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha
- Klaus Tange as Minister
Production
The film was produced by Zentropa and is a co-production among Denmark, Sweden and the Czech Republic.[6] It had a budget of 47.7 million Danish kroner.[7] (approximately US$7.8 million in 2022)[8] Before settling on the final title, the film had the production titles Dronningen og livlægen ("The queen and the royal physician"), based in part on the title of Enquist's book, and Caroline Mathildes år ("Caroline Mathilde's years").[9]
Reception
Box office
A Royal Affair opened at 7 theaters domestically in its first week (from 9 to 15 November 2012), grossing US$59,841.[10] In its second week, this doubled to US$120,012 for a total gross of US$179,853.[10] It went on to gross a total of US$1,546,761 in 25 weeks domestically and US$13,212,236 internationally for a worldwide total of US$14,758,997[10] against a budget of US$7.8 million.[7]
Critical response
Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 90% based on 112 reviews and an average rating of 7.25/10. The critical consensus reads: "A Royal Affair is a lavish and sumptuous costume drama with a juicy story to back it up."[11] Metacritic gives a weighted average rating of 73 based on reviews from 27 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[12]
British Film Critic Mark Kermode tied the film as the Best Film of 2012 along with Berberian Sound Studio.
Historian Alfred Brown notes that the film depicts Struensee as speaking fluent Danish, when in fact he did not speak it and persistently used German, which helped alienate him from Danish society. Brown also notes that "The exiled Queen's letter to her children makes a good
Accolades
At the Berlin Film Festival, Mikkel Følsgaard won the Silver Bear for Best Actor and Nikolaj Arcel and Rasmus Heisterberg won the award for Best Script.[14]
Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
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2013 | Academy Awards | Best Foreign Language Film
|
A Royal Affair | Nominated |
2012 | 62nd Berlin International Film Festival | Golden Bear | Nikolaj Arcel | Nominated |
Best Script | Nikolaj Arcel and Rasmus Heisterberg | Won | ||
Best Actor | Mikkel Følsgaard | Won | ||
2012 | Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award
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Best Foreign Language Film | A Royal Affair | Nominated |
2012 | Satellite Award
|
Best Foreign Language Film | A Royal Affair | Nominated |
Best Costume Design | Manon Rasmussen | Won | ||
Best Art Direction and Production Design | Niels Sejer | Nominated | ||
2012 | Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards | Best Foreign Language Film | A Royal Affair | Nominated |
2013 | Golden Globe Award | Best Foreign Language Film | A Royal Affair | Nominated |
See also
- The Dictator, a 1935 film about the same events
- List of submissions to the 85th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of Danish submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
References
- ^ a b c d e f "En kongelig affære (2012)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 9 January 2018. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
- ^ "62ND BERLIN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL FEBRUARY 09 - 19, 2012: Surprising and surprised winners". berlinale.de. 19 February 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
- ^ "Oscars: Hollywood announces 85th Academy Award nominations". BBC News. 10 January 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
- ^ Olsen, Mark (13 December 2012). "Golden Globe nominations 2013: Foreign category flies to France". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 13 December 2012.
- ^ Kleen, Björn af (15 April 2012). "Slaget om Dr Struensees liv". Expressen (in Swedish). Retrieved 16 April 2012.
- ^ Levinson, Gary (1 March 2012). "En Kongelig Affære (A Royal Affair)". indiemusicreview. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
- ^ Det Danske Filminstitut. 20 January 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
- ^ 2012 to 2022 Danish kroner calculated with "Value of 2012 Danish Kroner today". Inflation Calculator. Hereafter converted to USD with "Valutakurser". Euroinvestor (in Danish). Retrieved 28 May 2022.
- ^ "En kongelig affære". Nationalfilmografien (in Danish). Danish Film Institute. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
- ^ a b c "A Royal Affair (2012)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
- ^ "A Royal Affair". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
- ^ "A Royal Affair". Metacritic. CBS. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
- ^ Dr. Alfred G. Brown "The Inevitable Discrepancies Between History And Historical Fiction" in Nathaniel Gordon (ed.)"How We Perceive The Past — A View And Review"
- ^ "Prizes of the International Jury 2012". Berlinale. 19 February 2012. Archived from the original on 16 December 2006. Retrieved 19 February 2012.